


Superpowers are Overrated

by SpaceTime1969



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Identity Reveal, Akumatized Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth Identity Reveal, Identity Reveal, Light Angst, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Identity Reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-18 01:53:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 8,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29602035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpaceTime1969/pseuds/SpaceTime1969
Summary: Hawkmoth wasn't expecting anything different when he sent out his newest akuma. Unfortunately for him, Marinette Dupain-Cheng is so done with superpowers.
Comments: 16
Kudos: 160





	1. Akumatized

**Author's Note:**

> This story is cross-posted from my account on ff.net.

As Hawkmoth's akuma landed on Marinette, all she felt was a sense of distance. Sure she was still angry at Lila and her classmates, furious in fact, but she suddenly felt like those emotions were no longer hers. She could hear Tikki calling to her, but she was rather distracted.

"Clarity, I am Hawkmoth. I can give you the power to force people to believe you, but you must help me in return."

Mari just sat on her chair, not answering him. 

"I can't give you these powers unless you agree to them, so say yes and redemption will be yours."

"No, I don't want them."

"What! Why not? Don't you want a chance to get people to believe you?"

"Not like this, I might get them to believe me, but at what cost? I will not be the reason Paris falls."

"Are you really willing to ignore this chance? I can give you the power to fix all your problems, and if the heroes stop you there is no harm done."

"I don't want power, I want my friends back. You can't give me that and superpowers cause more trouble than they are worth. Superheros sacrifice any chance at a normal life! And what do they get in return? Nothing! Nothing but responsibility and failing relationships." Marinette's anger was back now, but it had a very different target. 

"I don't want to be a superhero! And I sure as Hades don't want to be a villain! So bug off and leave me alone." 

As Hawkmoth tried to come up with an answer he felt his link with the girl sever, and he was left feeling confused. He couldn't understand how she resisted his akuma. His butterflies amplified emotions, given the anger the girl was feeling when he sent out the akuma, she should have become completely controlled by her anger. He couldn't figure out why she wasn't.

He was so lost in thought he almost missed the rebound of Magic that came whenever an akuma was purified. Ladybug must have seen the akuma and decided to catch it before it reached its destination. It already had of course, but she didn't know that. 

He tapped his cane against the ground thoughtfully. "Well Miss Dupain-Cheng, you are most puzzling. The budding fashion designer who has a love of Paris and a hatred of superpowers. Who are you?" Deep in thought, Gabriel released his transformation. 

"Until next time Miss Dupain-Cheng." With that, he headed back to his office to research the mysterious girl in his son's class.


	2. The Last Straw

When Marinette ripped her hair ties from her head all her emotions slammed back into her, and Tikki's frantic voice became the center of her attention.

"Marinette! Can you hear me? Please tell me you are okay!"

"Yeah Tikki, I'm okay. But why wasn't I akumatized? I thought that once you get hit by a butterfly that is it."

"Oh Marinette! Thank goodness you are alright! I knew you would be, but I was so worried!" Tikki snuggled up to Marinette, comforting herself as much as she was her chosen.

Marinette smiled at her small friend. "I'm okay Tikki, but I don't understand how I wasn't akumatized."

"Well anyone who has a strong enough reason can fight off an akuma, but they also have to fight whatever emotion Hawkmoth is amplifying. Because you have your miraculous, Hawkmoth wasn't able to control your emotions like he usually would."

"Well, that's good to know. Now if I am trying to handle my emotions I won't be worrying about being akumatized too." She looked out her window. "Speaking of which, we should probably go catch that."

One transformation sequence, devillainization, and a shared plate of cookies later, and Marinette felt she was back in control of her emotions. But her relief from managing to fight off the akuma was also fading.

"He's not going to stop trying to akumatize me is he?" Marinette asked with a sigh.

Tikki frowned sadly. "I'm afraid not Marinette. We need to assume that Hawkmoth is going to be targeting you specifically after this. But I know you have the strength to fight them off!"

Marinette smiled at her friend. "Thanks Tikki, What I would I ever do without you?"

-0-0-0-

It was Friday, a few days later, when Hawkmoth had the opportunity to try again. Marinette's emotions had been building all day. It had started when Adrien told her that it was a good thing she wasn't outing Lila. But it hadn't stopped there. Nino had jokingly teased her when she tripped on her bag. Alya had told her that she needed to stop being jealous when she rolled her eyes at Lila's newest story.

And then there was Lila. She would insinuate that Mari didn't care about her friends because she kept canceling on them. Or she would suggest giving Marinette a break from class president because she seemed so overwhelmed.

Ladybug had been up fighting an akuma until the early hours of the morning, and her patience was already worn through by the time she got to school. With every needling tease Marinette's classmates drove her that much closer to being akumatized, until she finally snapped.

"Are you okay Marinette? You look kind of angry." Part of Marinette was glad Adrien noticed she wasn't happy, but she didn't really feel like talking to anyone at the moment.

"I'm fine Adrien." Unfortunately, Lila had overheard them and decided that this would be a great time to push Marinette even further.

"Are you sure Marinette? We don't want you to get akumatized after all."

"Yeah girl you seem super stressed out today. Are you sure you are okay?"

"I just said I'm fine Alya. Now please leave me alone."

"Why are you so annoyed Mari? I just wanted to know if you are feeling okay."

She snapped. "Fine! You want to know why I am annoyed? I'm tired of my fickle friends! You all go around taking a liar's word as gospel, and then belittle me when I try to call her out!"

"Woah girl, just because you don't like Lila doesn't mean she is a liar."

"Oh I forgot, she can tell any story she wants and be believed, but I have to list my citations before anyone believes me!"

"Calm down Mari, we need to avoid akumas!"

"Oh really? Thank you Adrien for reminding me that I can't even get angry anymore without my life being ruined by superpowers! All they have ever brought me is trouble. I HATE THEM!"

"Akuma!" The class watched in horror as the purple butterfly landed on the tablet in Marinette's hands. They watched as her anger seemed to fade, only to be replaced by a cold glare that they never wanted to see on Marinette's face again. When the, unfortunately now familiar, butterfly mask appeared on her face, she spoke in a cold and dangerous tone that scared them.

"I told you last time but you apparently didn't get the message, I don't want your powers and I will never give you a miraculous! Get that through your little bug brain Hawkmoth, I'm not going to tell you again."

The class watched in slightly terrified awe as Marinette walked to the front of the classroom and grabbed Ms. Bustier's jar of pens.

"Leave me alone Hawkmoth, and don't try to akumatize me again." With that she forcefully snapped the tablet she was holding over her knee, threw the pieces to the ground, and slammed the now emptied jar over the akuma, trapping it. Sighing, she walked back to her seat and began packing her things.

"Please let the teachers know that I will not be in school for the rest of the day." Alya watched her as she packed all her things up, trying to equate her bubbly best friend with the cold professional who was standing in her place.

"And Alya?" Marinette paused in the doorway.

"Yes Mari?"

"You might want to let Ladybug know about the akuma." And then Alya watched as her best friend walked out the door, leaving her scared and confused class behind.


	3. Rooftop Conversation

Adrien paced in his room, trying to process what had happened at school. Not long after Marinette had walked out, Miss Bustier had walked into a confused and shocked classroom. 

The class all trying to explain what had happened ended up causing more confusion than it fixed, and by the time Miss Bustier got them under control, Ladybug had shown up at the window. 

She had walked into the room and looked at Alya. "Your post said there was an akuma?"

Alya had nodded her head shakily. "It's under that jar." She pointed towards the front of the classroom.

"Thank you Alya." Ladybug walked up to the desk, pulling out her yoyo as she did. "May I ask what caused it?" 

Alya looked at her classmates, slightly apprehensive. "Well, it was our friend Marinette. She seemed kind of upset all day. We asked her if she was feeling okay and then she freaked out, accusing Lila of lying, and saying she hated superheroes! Then the akuma came and she just told Hawkmoth to leave her alone. It was like she wasn't even affected! She just snapped the tablet in two like it was plastic and trapped the akuma under that jar."

Ladybug had whipped out her yoyo and purified the akuma before turning back to Alya. "Is the Lila you mentioned Lila Rossi?"

"Yeah, your best friend?"

"I am not friends with Miss Rossi, the first time I heard of her was the baseless interview you posted on your blog. When I confronted her about claiming a connection to me, despite both the truth and the risk it would place her in should Hawkmoth believe her claims, I found her claiming to be the wielder of the fox miraculous to Adrien Agrest."

Ladybug turned to Miss Bustier. "Miss Dupain-Cheng has now broken free from two possessions. I suggest that, unless you want Hawkmoth to succeed, you look into your bullying problem."

Adrien had watched as Ladybug swung out the window. He hadn't known that Marinette had been akumatised before, or that Lila's lies had hurt her like that. He had thought that by ignoring Lila things would fix themselves, he didn't expect that it would lead to Marinette being akumatized. 

Adrien continued pacing. This was all his fault. If he hadn't told Marinette not to out Lila then this wouldn't have happened. He needed to make sure she was okay, either as Adrien, or as Chat.

-0-0-0-

Adrien, now transformed, vaulted toward Marinette's house. He saw her standing on her balcony, looking out over Paris. He hesitated, before extending his baton and landing on her roof. 

"Princess?"

She glanced over at him. "Hi Chat. What are you doing here?"

"Does a knight need a reason to visit a princess?" She rolled her eyes at him and he laughed, before sobering and turning back to the skyline. "I heard you were akumatized today, I wanted to make sure you're alright."

"I'm fine." She said quickly. "I fought it off and no one got hurt."

"But what about you? How are you doing?" He turned to look at her. She looked like she was going to brush him aside again for a moment, before sighing.

"I've been better."

"I'm here if you need to talk about it princess." He paused before sending her a smirk. "Or if you need a clawsome cat to knock some sense into someone."

She groaned at the pun, but she was smiling now which was good. "Really though Marinette, if you need someone, I'm here."

"Do you mean that?" He nodded and she smiled back at him. "Thanks Chat, I appreciate it."

"So what got you akumatized?" He put on his best macho face. "Do I need to have a little chat with someone?" She laughed this time, although he got the feeling it was more at his 'macho' face than at the pun.

"I guess it started last night with the akuma fight. The news kept me up when I should have been sleeping, and then when I went to school there were just a lot of things that added up, most of them from Lila. Eventually after all that and a lack of sleep I just, well… I snapped I guess."

"And that is when the akuma came?"

She sighed. "Yes." 

"How did you fight it off?"

"I don't know. I guess I was kinda angry at everything, and when Hawkmoth tried to talk to me it was like I finally had something to blame. Then I just kinda took all of my anger out on him and his plan."

"Is that what you meant when you said you hated superpowers?" She started and looked at him. "Uh… one of your classmates told me." He said, scrambling slightly.

She looked at him, and he started worrying that didn't believe him before she looked away.

"Sort of I guess?" She looked at him and then down at her feet. "It's complicated."

"How so?" She was quiet for a while, before looking back out at the Paris skyline.

"If you could make it so that Hawkmoth never got a miraculous would you? Even if it meant you wouldn't have become a superhero?"

He sucked in a breath. He wanted to say yes, but as he thought through what that would mean, he became less and less sure. Could he really give up everything he ha gained since becoming Chat? Would he really be able to give them all up, Plagg, his Lady, Marinette, his freedom? 

"I don't know." He whispered, shaken by the question.

"I guess I just wish superpowers didn't exist but all the good things that came from them did. Which is stupid of me, I know that is not how it works." She set her head on her arms tiredly. "I'm just being ridiculous, besides you already know all this, you're one of the ones who are out there fighting."

"You're not stupid, I feel the same way sometimes. My life became so much better when I became Chat, and I definitely don't want to lose this part of me, but there are still times that I wish I didn't have to be a superhero, usually after a bad battle or being forced to flake on my civilian life. Just because I like being a superhero doesn't mean I have to like everything about it." 

He smiled at her. "I just need to remember the things I love about it."

She smiled back at him. "Thank you."

They lapsed into a comfortable silence. Eventually, Chat stood from his place leaning on the railing. "Well princess, I am afraid that this cat will turn into a pumpkin if I stay out too long, are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, I'm okay Chat, thanks for helping me."

He smiled back at her and prepared to vault off the roof. "I'm glad I was able to cheer you up a little bit Marinette, and don't worry about school princess, Ladybug told your teacher about Lila, so things should get better soon!" And then Chat jumped. "Au revoir!" He called over his shoulder, completely unaware of Marinette's surprise at his statement.


	4. Apologies

Alya was hesitating, her hand raised to knock on the trap door to Marinette's room. Since the day before, when Marinette had been akumatized, Alya had been doing what she should have done when Lila first arrived. She checked her sources. And what she had found made her feel incredibly guilty.

Marinette was right, and Lila Rossi was a liar. Alya had really messed up, and it took a superhero personally telling her so for her to realize it.

She needed to apologize to Marinette. She needed to try to make up for how bad of a friend she had been. She knocked.

She heard Marinette call from inside the room. "Come in!"

Alya quietly pushed the hatch open. Marinette was at her desk, listening to quiet music and sketching in her notebook. She seemed happy, but when she turned around and saw Alya standing on the steps her expression became guarded. How had Alya let things get so bad that seeing her put Marinette on edge?

"Why are you here?"

"I… I wanted to make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine Alya." The two of them stood there in silence as Alya mustered her courage.

"I need to apologize." Marinette seemed almost surprised, and that hurt even worse than her earlier reaction to Alya. "I should have believed you. We were terrible friends. I was a terrible friend. I believed Lila without any proof even when you told me I shouldn't, and I should have believed you when you said Lila framed you. I should have been on your side, not Lila's! I'm a terrible friend and I am so sorry!"

Alya couldn't bring herself to look Marinette in the eye. "I'm so, so sorry Mari, can we be friends again? I don't want to lose my best friend."

Marinette looked at her, then away. When she spoke up her voice was quiet. "So you believe me now that Lila is a liar?"

"Yes you were completely right and I should have checked my sources. And I'm sorry for not listening to you, you probably knew Jagged Stone doesn't have any cats. You are his favorite designer after all."

Marinette blushed. "I don't know if I would go that far Alya."

"Oh come on! You made his favorite sunglasses and his favorite album cover!" Alya shot her friend a brief teasing grin before becoming serious again.

"Can we start over, go back to being best friends?"

Marinette looked at the person who had been her best friend until Lila came along. And then she looked down at the almost empty plate of cookies that was on her desk. Picking up the last cookie on the plate, she split it in half and handed it to Alya with a small smile. "Marinette."

Alya took the offered cookie with a smile. "Alya."

"Do you want to be friends?"

Alya laughed and hugged her best friend. "Girl, I would love that!"

-0-0-0-

Tikki watched Marinette as she worked on one of her newest projects. Since she had outed Lila to the class as Ladybug, Marinette's school life had gotten much better. Lila had lost her power in the classroom, and Adrien had apologized several times for telling her not to out Lila.

When Alya had heard that Adrien had known about Lila and didn't do anything she had been mad. But then she suggested that Adrien take Marinette out for lunch, as a way to "make it up to her."

Adrien had apparently thought it was a great idea and, before Marinette quite realized what was happening, they had arranged plans for the two of them to go out to eat together. Alya had then quickly retreated with Marinette in tow, getting her friend away before she had time to realize what had just happened.

The two's lunch had had a bit of a rocky start at first, but after a while of stilted conversation and awkward silences, Adrien had cracked a food pun, a very bad food pun. Tikki had rolled her eyes. Adrien was definitely Plagg's chosen.

The pun seemed to be the ice breaker the two needed. Marinette managed to forget that she was with Adrien and not Chat long enough to tell him straight up that his pun was terrible. He had smirked at her, and she had preemptively told him that he was not allowed to make any puns about terrible paper.

Adrien had pouted, before smirking at her. "Is my humor that hard to swallow?"

Before long they were bantering back and forth, Adrien coming up with puns and Marinette doing her best to preemptively ban them. And it was hilarious to watch how they slipped into the comfortable comradery they shared as Ladybug and Chat, while remaining completely unaware of the fact that their partner was the one sitting across from them.

Adrien ran out of puns after a while, and now that the tension between them had broken, they talked about all kinds of things. From video games to movies and favorite TV shows, their conversation wandered from topic to topic. When the food was gone they walked out of the restaurant, talking and laughing all the while. Eventually, Adrien dropped Marinette off at her home where, after saying goodbye to Adrien and being interrogated by her parents, Marinette had come upstairs to her room.

“So how was your date Marinette?” Tikki had teasingly asked as she zoomed out of Marinette's purse.

"It really was great Tikki, and why are you asking? You were with me the entire time."

She giggled. "Yeah, but I was stuck in your purse the entire time."

Marinette laughed. "It was good Tikki, once I got over my nervousness I was able to have a lot of fun with Adrien. I had no idea Adrien liked puns so much. He could even give Chat a run for his money."

Tikki had laughed at the irony of her statement. "Yeah Marinette, he probably could."

Yeah, things were going well. Sure, there had been some close calls with identities. Marinette had had to give Alya an explanation as to how Ladybug had known about her first akumatization, and, lucky for Chat, she had assumed that the "classmate" who had told him about her getting akumatized, had also mentioned what she had said as Ladybug. So it hadn't been completely smooth, but all in all, things had gotten much better since the akuma at school.

Tikki glanced out the window. Suddenly, she yelled a warning to her chosen, startling Marinette's focus from the fabric in her hands.

Marinette stared at the purple butterfly with a mixture of confusion and shock. "What the heck is that doing here? I'm not angry."

Tikki watched as the butterfly landed on the piece of fabric in Marinette's hand. She waited as the glowing mask appeared on Marinette's face. Tikki became more and more anxious as the mask stayed there, because Marinette's face was changing. First from a glare of defiance to a look of confusion, then uncertainty, and finally a sly smirk. But when Marinette opened her mouth Tikki's worst nightmare came true.

"You have yourself a deal Hawkmoth."

And then purple light exploded from the fabric.


	5. Third Time's the Charm

Gabriel stood in his butterfly dome, thinking about his son's mysterious classmate. Somehow Marinette Dupain-Cheng had thrown off two akumas, and he didn't know how. 

The only other person to reject an akuma was Chloé Bourgeois and that was because he had misinterpreted the emotions. Admittedly he had made the same mistake when he first attempted akumatizing Miss Dupain-Cheng, but the second time was different.

He had been extra careful the second time, taking time to make sure he knew exactly what she wanted before he akumatized her. It had even been an emotion that had a clear motivation: convince her friend that they were wrong. And yet, somehow, the moment the akuma landed all those emotions were turned against him and his akuma. 

The sheer force of the girl's emotions had almost made him physically stumble. The sudden anger and icy determination had caught him so off guard he was barely able to object when she went to break whatever item his akuma had landed on, and then it was too late. Once again Marinette Dupain-Cheng had thrown off an akuma.

Hawkmoth watched as a butterfly landed on his open hand. He looked at it, considering, debating. Then he closed his hand over it and, with a flash of light, the butterfly became an akuma. 

He released it, his eyes following it as it flew out the window. "Go my little akuma and let us barter with this enigma of a girl."

-0-0-0-

Marinette had been happily lost in thought, working on her most recent design project. Suddenly Tikki yelled, startling her. "Marinette, an akuma!"

Marinette stared. What was an akuma doing here? She wasn't angry or upset. Why on earth would Hawkmoth send an akuma now? 

She watched as the akuma's purple magic spread through the fabric she was holding. "What are you doing here Hawkmoth? I've told you already I won't accept your deal, I will never help you fight Chat Noir and Ladybug."

Hawkmoth's voice rang within her head. "Ah but Miss Dupain-Cheng, this time my deal is different. I am willing to give you any power you want, with no strings attached. No demands, no plots, just a chance to do whatever you want.

Nothing about this made sense. Why would Hawkmoth try to akumatize someone without asking for the miraculouses? "There's no such thing as a free lunch Hawkmoth, what do you get out of this?"

She felt him pause. "I get a chance to satisfy my curiosity. I have had many champions, sent out many of my butterflies, and they were successful, until you. You are a mystery, what makes you different? Is it a personal hatred of me? Or perhaps simply an inherent stubbornness? I don't know, and I doubt you will tell me. But there is one question I have the ability to find out the answer to, what will you do with the chance to have any power you want?"

Marinette stood there, biting her lip uncertainty, her mind racing but remaining quiet. 

"The choice is yours, what will you do with it?"

Marinette knew her idea was risky, but if it worked it would all be worth it. "You promise no hidden agenda, and I get to use my powers for whatever I want?"

"Yes, do you accept those terms?"

Marinette smiled. "You have yourself a deal Hawkmoth." And then, purple magic enveloped her.

-0-0-0-

The girl had accepted the power, now he waited to see what she would do with it. Suddenly there was a voice in his head. "Hello Hawkmoth I am Sympathizer, and I want to understand why people do what they do.” The girl had turned her power on him. “So let's start with you Hawkmoth. Who are you, and why do you want the miraculouses so much?"

Even as he fought against the girl’s power he felt his memories go back to his times with Emilie. He could still feel her emotions through the akuma, and so he knew she was seeing the same things he was remembering. All the good, and all the bad.

At some point Gabriel had stopped fighting the memories, the girl already knew, why bother trying to hide it? They watched together as his beloved wife grew sick, and then fell into a coma. He took control back after that, shutting off the memories.

"So you wanted to know who I am? This is who I am! I am Gabriel Agreste, and I need those miraculouses to save my wife."

Marinette felt the akuma leave, and she fell to her knees. She had found him. She had found the person who had been terrorizing Paris, and that person was now all too human.


	6. Identities

Marinette stood on top of the Eiffel Tower, waiting for Chat to arrive.

Since she had discovered Hawkmoth's identity, she had been trying to figure out what to do. Adrien, the boy she was crushing on, the boy she was finally becoming friends with, his father was Hawkmoth! 

On Adrien's birthday, she had let him believe that his father had given him the scarf she made because she didn't want to hurt him. This was so much worse. She didn't know what to tell him, or if she even should tell him anything. How do you tell someone that their father is a magical terrorist who is trying to wake their wife from a magical coma?

Marinette didn't know what to do. All she knew was that she needed to talk to Chat. He was her partner, her friend. He was the only person who she could trust with this. She might be completely overwhelmed, but she and Chat could figure this out, together. 

For the first time ever, the end of the fighting was in sight. They could finally stop the akumas. And maybe...maybe now she could finally get to know the person who was behind her best friend's mask.

There was a soft thump next to her. Turning she saw her partner, a smile on his face. "Hello my lady."

She pulled him into a hug. "Thanks for coming Chat." He was here. They would figure this out. Them against the world. 

"So what's up milady? You said we needed to talk."

She hesitated a moment, before telling him. "I found out who Hawkmoth is."

Chat's face morphed into a look of shock and disbelief. "What! How did you find out? Did you find his lair, or his house or something?"

"No, I…well I actually got akumatized."

"Wait what?"

Ladybug ducked her head in embarrassment. "Yeah. Hawkmoth has been trying to akumatize civilian me for a while, but I was able to throw them off. I thought that would be it, but then he made a different offer. He offered me any power I wanted, with no strings attached. And I realize that it was incredibly stupid to accept it but it worked! I was able to use the power to learn who he was! He's Gabriel Agreste! The fashion designer!"

Adrien stiffened. That was impossible, surely he had misheard her. She saw his shock and went to convince him. 

"I know, I was surprised too. We fought him as the collector already, but he must have akumatized himself in order to throw off suspicion."

"No there is no way. He can't be...my father can't be Hawkmoth!" He froze, and then slowly turned to look at Ladybug. Her face was a mask of complete shock, and he knew she knew. 

"Adrien?" She asked in a whisper, and he nodded.

Adrien didn't know what he was expecting, but Ladybug pulling him into a hug was not it. He hesitantly hugged her back. "Are you mad?"

"I…no I'm not mad." She pulled him closer. "But I am so sorry Chat…Adrien. I didn't mean for you to find out this way." 

Adrien was completely overwhelmed, but here, with his lady, he knew everything would be okay. He and Ladybug would figure this out, together. 

"I can't believe my father would do this. I know that he's been different since my mother died, but I thought he was just grieving. I didn't think he had become a supervillain!" He felt Ladybug tense. 

"Chat, there's something else too. When I was akumatized, I didn't just find out who Hawkmoth is, I also found out what he wants to use the miraculous wish for. It's your mother Adrien, she was using the broken peacock miraculous and fell into a magical coma. He wants to use the wish to bring her back."

"My mother is alive?" Adrien asked, once again overwhelmed.

"Yes, and I promise you that we will save her too. The wish is too dangerous, but I promise you that I will find a way to heal her. Okay?"

"Okay." He whispered, leaning his head on her shoulder. "Thank you Ladybug."

"You and me against the world, right Chat?"

He smiled. "Right."

Eventually, they pulled apart, and Chat mustered up a smirk. "So I guess the chat is out of the bag."

It made Ladybug laugh. "How long have you been hanging on to that one?"

He smiled at her, a real smile, not a photoshoot one, the kind that only his friends got. "Since the time we first agreed to keep our identities a secret."

"Yeah, that was a long time ago. Uhm... you know it's not really fair that I know who you are, but you don't know who I am. I...I want to share my identity with you, Adrien."

Adrien was surprised. His lady was always adamant they keep their identities secret. "You don't have to just because I messed up. It's fine."

"No I want to, I want to be able to talk at school and hangout. You're my best friend Chat, and I want that in both my lives."

She took a deep breath, and then released it. "Tikki spots off." And then Marinette was standing where Ladybug was moments before. "Hi Chat."

"Marinette, you're Ladybug!"

"Yep, that's me." She said, tucking her hair behind her ear. She looked up at him. "Surprise?"

He laughed. "I can't believe it! My princess and my Lady are the same person!"

She smiled at him, and he released his own transformation. "Wait so when you said Hawkmoth had been trying to akumatize you, it was because of Lila?"

Marinette nodded. "Yeah. I fought him off the first time, and you saw the second time. I thought that that would be it after I kinda outed Lila in front of the whole class, but apparently, Hawkmoth was curious. As far as I know, no one has ever rejected an akuma before, so I guess he wanted to find out why."

"I'm so sorry Marinette. I shouldn't have told you to let Lila keep lying, especially since it almost got you akumatized. I wasn't just a bad friend, I was a bad partner too."

"It's okay Adrien, I get why you wanted to keep Lila from getting akumatized again. It was part of the reason I agreed, I didn't want any extra akuma fights either. Just, try not to do it again okay?"

"I promise milady."

She pulled him into a hug. "Thanks kitty. We'll figure this out."

He smiled back at her. "Together, same as always." He transformed back into Chat and she did the same. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow milady?"

"Yeah, see you in school Adrien!" And then she swung away, pretending to be unaware of the adorable look he had on his face. That, and the fact she was crushing on her partner, that Adrien was the one constantly flirting with her, how she had been rejecting Adrien for Adrien, and everything else she had shoved to the back of her mind so that she could comfort her friend, could wait until she was in bed and had a pillow she could scream into.


	7. Crush

"Okay class! For homework I want you to find a partner and work together to prepare a presentation on the topics we have discussed. Class dismissed."

As the class ended Adrien packed up his school supplies and ran out the door after Marinette and Alya. "Hey wait up! Do you want to partner up on the project with me, Marinette?"

"Um… Yeah, I love… I mean I would like that." Adrien looked at her, his lady was usually much more confident than this.

"Are you alright Marinette?"

"Yes, I'm fine, totally fine. Why do you ask?"

"You're just acting a little nervous is all."

"No, it's nothing, and it definitely doesn't have anything to do with you, or me, or us. Not that there is an us. Or I guess there is an us but not a different us, and, oh gosh this is so embarrassing."

From where he was standing, Alya seemed to be a mix of exasperated and entertained. It kind of felt like he was missing something. 

"So then what is it about?" He asked, confused. "Is it because of who I am?" He wondered. He really hoped that she wasn't upset about sharing their identities.

"No! Well kinda. Not in a bad way though! It's just that you are that you, but that you flirted with that me, but that me didn't care because I was crushing on this you who was busy crushing on that me… and this was not the way I wanted to tell you about this." 

As Adrien stood there stunned, a baffled Alya shook her head. "Girl, I didn't understand a word of that."

"Wait wait wait, so I'm the mystery boy?"

Marinette blushed crimson. "Yes."

Adrien stood there for a moment, and then started laughing. "Only us princess."

After a moment Marinette joined him. "I guess it is pretty funny isn't it."

"I told you that you would fall for my roguish good looks!" 

Marinette rolled her eyes. "As handsome as you are, I didn't fall in love with your looks."

"Was it my pickup lines then? Because you are pretty enough for the both of us." 

"No," she said, blushing slightly, "those are terrible. I didn't fall for the supermodel or the flirt, I fell for my classmate, the guy who gave me his umbrella when it was raining." 

Adrien was overwhelmed. His lady loved him, not for his masks, but for him, the boy underneath them. He hugged her. "Thank you milady." He whispered.

She smiled back at him. "You're welcome kitty."

He looked over Marinette's shoulder. "Um, Marinette? Alya looks like she is about to interrogate us." And considering the secrets they had been alluding to, that would probably turn out badly for them. 

Marinette seemed to understand and raised her voice so that Alya could hear. "So do you want to get to work on that project?"

"Sure!" Adrien said, playing along as they began to move away from Alya.

"No wait! What just happened!" 

"Sorry, Alya! We've got to go!" With that the two of them broke into a run, speeding away from their, more than a little confused, friend.

-0-0-0-

When they reached Marinette's family's bakery, they paused only long enough to say hello to her parents before heading up to Marinette’s room. 

“I can’t believe that we were in a love triangle with only two people! Or is it a square? I honestly have no idea.” Adrien laughed.

“I can’t believe that’s how I told you! That was so embarrassing. And Alya was right there too!”

“Well, it’s not all bad right? I can finally ask you out to a movie!”

Marinette’s face flushed, and she looked at him shyly. “Yeah, that would be fun.”

He smiled back at her. “Well then, once we get my father’s miraculous back, we'll go to the movies together! Assuming we escape Alya’s attempts to get us to spill all our secrets that is.”

“Sounds like a plan kitty," Marinette said when she finished laughing. "You’re right though. We probably need to decide what we're going to do about that.”

Adrien nodded, internally still freaking out over the fact that she had agreed. "Right, so what do we tell her?"

Marinette seemed to hesitate. “Actually, I was thinking the truth.”

Adrien blinked. "As entertaining as it would be to tell the ladybloger that we are in her class, don't you think that's a bad idea?"

"Maybe, but hear me out okay? While I think that you and I can beat Hawkmoth in a fight, I would feel better if we had backup, especially if Mayura is there too."

"Okay, but what does having backup have to do with revealing our identities to Alya? Couldn't we deliver the miraculouses like we usually do when we need Rena Rouge or the others?"

"I'm thinking that it might be easier to get close to the miraculouses if we show up as four classmates working on homework, rather than four attacking superheroes."

"So you're saying we use our civilian identities as covers to get close to my father?" He clarified.

"Basically, yeah." She rubbed her arm nervously. "It's just a rough idea right now, but I was thinking that with Nino and Alya with us we would be able to walk right in before transforming and grabbing the miraculous."

He thought about it. "I think it's a good plan, milady. Are you sure that you're okay with them knowing though?" 

She nodded. "I trust them."

"I do too." She relaxed and he smiled at her. "If we are doing this I have one request though."

"What is it?" 

He deployed his best kitten eyes. "Can we please mess with them before we tell them?"

Adrien absolutely loved Marinette's laughter.


	8. The Team

Alya glanced down at her phone. She didn't know what was going on with her friends. First Adrien had asked Marinette to partner with him on a homework assignment, and then Marinette had said a whole bunch of stuff that made no sense but that Adrien of all people was able to interpret as a love confession. Then the two of them ran off, and Marinette's only answer to Alya's messages had been, "I'll tell you later." Alya didn't know what on earth was going on, but she was going to find out.

Suddenly she heard a knock on her window. Seeing Ladybug there her eyes widened, and she jumped from her chair to let her in.

"Ladybug! What are you doing here? Is there an akuma? Do you need my help?"

Ladybug chuckled. "No, there's no akuma, but I am going to need you and Carapace for a mission. Do you think you can bring Nino and meet me and Chat in the park across from your school, tomorrow at eleven o'clock? We can bring you up to speed then."

"We'll be there Ladybug! You can count on us!"

"I know I can Alya." Ladybug said, smiling as she walked back to the window. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

Alya nodded. "See you then!" She called, waving goodbye as her idol swung away into the night.

As soon as Ladybug was gone she dived for her phone to call Nino.

"Hi Alya. What's up?"

"You are never going to believe who just showed up in my room!"

"Who was it?"

"Ladybug! Can you believe it? And she wants our help for a mission!"

"Really? Sweet, what is it!"

"She didn't say, but she wants to meet up at the park by Marinette's house at eleven o'clock tomorrow. You'll be there right?"

"Definitely. It's a Saturday morning, I don't have anything else going on."

"Awesome! See you tomorrow Nino."

"See ya, Alya!"

Alya hung up and flopped down on her bed. She still didn't know what was up with Marinette, but that mystery could wait until after tomorrow.

-0-0-0-

Marinette watched as Alya pulled Nino into the park. She checked her phone. "Five minutes early, you ready Chat?" She asked, turning to face him.

His face was absolutely gleeful. "So ready milady. I can't wait to see their faces when they find out. This is going to be pawsitively hilarious."

She rolled her eyes, smiling at him. "Really Adrien? I still can't believe that you're actually a complete dork."

He smiled warmly at her. "But I'm your dork, right Marinette?"

Marinette blushed. "Ye-yeah… I guess so… oh look here they come. Hey, Alya! Over here!" She called, ignoring how flustered she was and waving them over.

"Marinette? Adrien? What are you guys doing here?" Alya said, clearly surprised to see them.

"Oh, we're meeting someone here. What about you guys though?" Adrien asked. "You seemed like you were in a real rush, are you meeting someone too?"

"No, we were just… out for a stroll, yeah. We thought it would be nice to hang out in the park, right Nino?"

"Uh, yeah that's right, a nice walk in the park. To hang out, and stuff." Nino laughed nervously. "We just wanted to get here quickly, that's all."

Marinette smirked and turned to Adrien. "Oh, well that explains why Alya was pulling Nino along."

He laughed. "Yeah, it makes sense that a fox would be faster than a turtle."

Alya and Nino froze. "What are you guys talking about?"

Marinette deliberately checked the time on her phone. "Oh look at the time! We should head over to my house. Come on! There's something miraculous we need to show you!"

She grabbed a stunned Alya's hand and pulled her toward the bakery with Nino and a laughing Adrien following. "Yeah, Marinette has some absolutely magical jewelry for you guys to try on. It will probably fit you purrfectly too."

They kept this up and by the time they reached Marinette's family's bakery, their poor friends were completely overwhelmed.

"Hi Papa!"

"Hello Marinette! Are you four heading upstairs?"

"Yep!" She said smiling at him.

"Okay, have fun!"

"We will Papa! Come on guys!" She led them upstairs, where she pulled two very familiar octagonal boxes out.

Alya and Nino stared at the boxes in Marinette's hands. "Where did you get those Marinette?" Alya asked, truly freaking out now.

"Aren't you going to open them?" She asked, before smiling at them. "Trixx and Wayzz miss you guys."

Alya finally broke. "Marinette, what is going on! How did you get these? How do you know our kwamis' names? Where's Ladybug!"

Adrien pointed at Marinette. "She's right in front of you of course!"

"Wait! What?"

Marinette smiled at her. "Hi, I'm Ladybug," she gestured to Adrien, "and this is my partner, Chat Noir! We need your help to take down Hawkmoth. You in?"

"What! That's completely…" Nino trailed off. "Actually that explains a lot."

"What do you mean that explains a lot? Our best friends are claiming to be superheroes! Admittedly they look a lot like them, and the only time that we saw Marinette and Ladybug together there was a time-travel akuma, but that doesn't… I guess… oh my gosh, my best friend is Ladybug." She buried her face in her hands. "I can't believe it. I made a fan blog on my best friend."

They all laughed. "Don't worry about it, Alya. Chat and I didn't even know until two days ago."

Nino looked surprised. "Wait you two didn't even know each other's identities?"

Adrien shook his head. "Nope. Not until this week."

Alya looked at him. "So what changed? And why are you telling us?"

Adrien shared a glance with Marinette. "Well, we figured out who Hawkmoth is." Marinette reached for his hand and squeezed it. "It turns out that my father has been the one terrorizing Paris this whole time."

"What!"

Adrien gave a small smile. "Yeah, that's about how I reacted too. Throw in a denial that my father couldn't be Hawkmoth and Marinette knew my identity."

"Wow, that's a lot. You okay dude?"

"Yeah. I mean I don't particularly want to throw my father in jail, but I can't let him keep putting my friends in danger anymore. He needs to be stopped."

"How did you figure out who he was?" Alya asked.

"You know how I was akumatized?"

"Yeah?"

"Well after I threw off his first two akumas, Hawkmoth got curious. He tried again, but this time he gave me complete control over the power. I accepted, and was able to find out his identity."

"Our plan is to walk in untransformed and then ambush my father to get the miraculouses. Hopefully, we can get close enough to get his miraculous before he can transform. Are you guys willing to help us?"

"We're with you all the way, dude."

Marinette smiled at her friends and held the two jewelry boxes out once again. "Then Alya Césaire, and Nino Lahiffe, I give you the Miraculouses of the Fox and the Turtle. You will use them for the greater good, and return them to me when I ask." They smiled and gently took the miraculouses from her.

"Yes Ma'am, Ladybug."

"You got it dude!"


	9. Finish

"Sir? Adrien has brought some friends over from school. He says that they have a group project they need to do."

Gabriel looked up from where he was sitting and sighed. "I assume he has no other responsibilities?"

"No sir. Adrien has none for this afternoon."

"Then his friends may stay. However, please inform him that I am not to be disturbed."

"Yes sir." Nathalie turned and left him to his planning.

He needed to get the Miraculouses soon, before that girl could reveal him to the heroes. It was part of the reason he was hesitating to send out an akuma. An akuma fight could create an opportunity for the girl to contact the heroes and tell them his secret. He might get only one more shot before they find him, and he needed to make it count.

Gabriel heard a scuffle come from outside his door. He was about to dismiss it as unimportant when his door burst open.

"Grab him!"

His hands were pinned before he had even managed to fully stand. He stared at the heroes who had taken over his office in shock. "What is the meaning of this!" He demanded, struggling against the fox and turtle miraculous welders.

"I'm sorry Hawkmoth, but it's over." Chat ripped the brooch away from him.

Gabriel Agreste thrashed, desperately trying to get free. "No! How dare you! That is mine!" He tried to call his transformation, but it was already too late, he had lost his miraculous. "No! You can't do this! You can't take this from me! I can't lose her again!"

He sagged, bowing his head. "Please, I need that wish. Take me away, imprison me, but please let me save my wife."

"And what about your son? Are you so caught up in what you have lost that you are willing to throw away what you have?" Chat asked angrily.

"I was never the one my son needed. I'm doing this for him!"

"And did you ever wonder if he wanted that!"

"Why do you care! This isn't your family!"

Ladybug reached for Chat's hand and he turned to face her. She nodded at him once and gave his hand a squeeze before Chat turned back to face Gabriel.

Suddenly there was a flash of green light, and his son took the place of the masked superhero who he had been fighting against. "This is my family, my mother! I didn't want this, and I can't believe that my mom would either."

"Adrien."

"I'm going to do everything I can to heal Mother, but I'm not going to become a terrorist to do it." His son turned away. "You handle the rest of this milady? I need to get out of here."

"Yeah, we've got it. Go on, I'll come find you."

Gabriel watched as his son transformed and vaulted out the window, disappearing over the rooftops of Paris.

"Come on," Ladybug said, tying his hands together with her yoyo, "the cops are on their way."

-0-0-0-

Marinette swung towards the Eiffel tower, looking for Chat as she went. She found him sitting in their usual spot, looking out over their city. "Hey, Adrien. How are you doing?"

He looked at her and smiled. "Better now that you're here." He sighed. "I guess I don't know what to feel. I always thought that this was everything I wanted. Hawkmoth defeated, you and me knowing each other's identities, dating," they both blushed, "but I don't know what to feel now. I have everything I wanted, even a chance to get my mother back, but I lost my father. I guess it's like you said, I want all the good without any of the bad."

"Well a wise kitten once told me that just because something is good doesn't mean we have to like everything about it. We just need to remember the good."

He smirked at her. "A wise kitten huh?"

"He has his moments." She said with a smile, and they laughed.

She took his hand in hers. "We'll figure this out." And they did.

Gabriel and Nathalie went to prison, and, with the help of the guardians in Tibbet, Adrien's mother was cured. Paris was finally able to stop worrying about akumas, and Ladybug and Chat Noir spent their time helping whoever they could.

As for Marinette and Adrien, if they eventually ended up with three kids and a hamster and lived in a beautiful house together, it was because they were partners. Partners who would lift the other up when one of them was down, would support each other as they followed their dreams, and always had each other’s backs in a fight. Because it was the two of them against the world, and after everything they had been through together, you could bet they were going to win.

_**Fin** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it.


End file.
